


Captain Jack and Agent Emily

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today was going to be a good day and she didn’t plan to spend it profiling or pontificating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Captain Jack and Agent Emily

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Dorado Falls.

“You’ve always been a good shot.” Morgan said as they walked through the parking lot. “Seven months away hasn’t changed that.”

“I've been practicing on my own too.” Emily replied. “It’s not just about my team feeling secure but my feeling secure as well. Seven months without pulling my gun…hell, I never thought I’d experience that.”

“I know what you mean. How was it having a different life for a little while?”

“I hated it.” she smiled but it was sad. “I hated being away from the people I loved and the life I created for myself. It wasn’t perfect but it was mine. Suddenly my life didn’t belong to me anymore. It was just like when I was a kid. We all know how well that went.”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked.

“When I'm trapped, I rebel. You don’t know how many times I just thought ‘to hell with this’. I wanted to get back on a plane and come home. Derek, I didn’t make the decision to leave.

“I know I could’ve just blown the plan to bits at anytime but I truly feared that Doyle would come after you guys unless I was gone.” Emily sighed. “That was the only thing that kept me from coming back. Once, in Oslo, I went all the way to the airport and got a ticket. Something stopped me from getting on that plane.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He put his arm around her as they got to her car. “You're back; and you're here to stay. Your life is yours again.”

“Hallelujah!”

“Hey, I thought you gave up caffeine.” Morgan looked inside her car.

It was a 1968 Ford Mustang GT390, the same car that Steve McQueen drove in _Bullitt_. It was red wine colored, like Chianti, with a black hard top. The damn car gave him a hard-on. It would give any guy a hard-on. Knowing a beautiful, badass woman was behind the wheel only made it more awesome. Then he saw the Diet Pepsi bottle in the cup holder.

“That was a lot easier to do when I wasn’t in the thick of insanity all the time. It lasted a couple of months here but no…it’s not for me. How did I ever think I would survive without coffee?”

“It was good of you to try.”

Emily nodded, unlocking her car door. She climbed into the driver’s seat. Morgan asked her if she wanted to get a bite to eat. He always liked eating after training.

“I would but I have a date.” Emily replied.

“Whoa, you just got home and you're already back out there. Tell me about him.”

“Well, he's amazing. He’s handsome, smart, funny; I could talk for hours and hours about how much I adore him.”

“Really?” Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Be careful, you’re just getting acclimated to being back. You don’t wanna jump into something with both feet before you're ready.”

“Don’t worry Morgan. With his early bedtime, we’re not going to get ourselves into too much trouble.”

“You're seeing Jack this afternoon.”

A smile spread over Morgan’s whole face. Jack was a great kid; the whole team loved him. Hotch was still protective of him and didn’t let his team spend much time with the six year old. But there was something special between Jack and Emily. Everyone saw it and they approved. It seemed to be a good relationship for both of them.

As intensely private and closed off as their Unit Chief was, he seemed to let Emily in enough to care about his son. That was as far as she would get. To Morgan, it didn’t look like she’d been fighting for anything else for some time. It was probably for the best. For as good as the relationship with Jack was for Emily, Derek feared a personal relationship with Hotch wouldn’t be in her best interest. Emily’s best interest mattered a lot to him…now more than ever.

“I'm really excited.” Emily smiled too. “I haven’t had a chance to see him since I've been back. I really wanted to but hardly knew what to say to him. I don’t care anymore about words; I just want a big ol Jack hug.”

“What was Hotch telling him while you were gone?” Morgan asked. “He didn’t tell him you were…?”

“No, Derek, Hotch wouldn’t do something like that. After all Jack’s been through with Haley’s death he wouldn’t put him through that.”

 _Its alright for him to lie to us, but not to his son_ , Morgan thought but kept his mouth shut. He was almost glad to know the man wasn’t that stupid. Grownups could move on. That kind of betrayal would destroy a six year old.

“So what did Jack think?” Derek had to know. He didn’t know why but he had to.

“His father told him I was on a super-secret FBI mission. Jack wasn’t supposed to talk about it with anyone. Hotch told him he didn’t know when I was coming back but I was keeping the whole world safe. He was five; he believed it.”

“I probably believed everything my father said at five too. Go and be with him…I hope you two have a great afternoon.”

“Thanks.” Emily closed her driver’s side door and put the key in the ignition. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Bright and early.” Derek smiled. “Coffee’s on me this time.”

“What? I thought I owed you coffee and neck rubs.”

“You still owe me the neck rubs. We’ll split the difference on the caffeine. See ya, Emily.”

“Bye.” She waved and then pulled out of the parking space.

Echo and the Bunnymen’s debut album played on her iPod as Emily headed from to Alexandria where Hotch lived. She could be there in 45 minutes and that gave her plenty of time to come down from spending two hours at the shooting range. Singing along to some of her favorite songs would also help calm the nerves building in her belly. Just before getting on the ramp to I-95, Emily looked at the last picture of her and Jack taken on her iPhone over six months ago. She missed him so much when she was gone.

Sometimes Emily missed him so much she cried. No, he wasn’t her little boy but he’d come to mean so much to her. What a port in the storm he was when the job got to be too much. Just because it was a fulfilling and fascinating job didn’t mean it never got to be too much. How lucky Hotch was to have Jack in his life all the time for hugs, conversation, and all the wonderful things parents and kids did together.

Emily knew, mostly from profiling, which she wasn’t supposed to do in the first place that Hotch’s childhood was not rainbows and puppy dog tails. Hers wasn’t either but his sucked for different reasons. She knew he would probably never believe he was being a good enough father to Jack. He was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Jack to hate him for what happened to Haley. A part of Emily was sad that Hotch couldn’t or didn’t see the immense love in Jack’s eyes whenever he looked at his father. She could only wish for someone to love her unconditionally like that.

She thought of calling ahead, letting Hotch know she was on her way. But she told him last night before they left Quantico that she would be there as soon as she was done at the range. Emily told him to keep it from Jack; she wanted to surprise him. Hotch promised that he would.

So she didn’t want to call now and make the little boy suspicious. He was ever curious and very intelligent. Emily would just let it be a surprise. She was smiling from ear to ear just thinking about being less than an hour away from one of the best huggers in the world. His father would be there too and he was one of the most controlled men she ever met.

Emily eased her foot off the gas some as Haley’s voice came into her mind. She rarely thought about that day; pushed it into a box and put a heavy bolt on it. But Haley told Hotch to teach Jack to love. She told him to show his son that he was loving, could smile, and be funny and sweet. Emily knew a little how Hotch acted behind closed doors with Jack. But would that be enough?

Was it OK to be one way with his child and something completely opposite with everyone else? It would probably end up hurting Hotch more in the end. Emily shook off the whole train of thought. What was she doing? She had no right to even concern herself with something so personal.

Today was going to be a good day and she didn’t plan to spend it profiling or pontificating. Emily needed to get it off her mind right now. Today was about fun, fun, and a little more fun. She turned up the music and kept driving.

***

Parking in Alexandria sucked; that’s just the way it was. On Saturday it was even worse. Emily ended up parking two blocks from the building where Hotch and Jack lived. It gave her some time to calm down her rapid heartbeat, which just sped up as the distance between Quantico and Alexandria shortened. Paul Simon was running through her head, _Still Crazy After All These Years_ had just begun as she came into town.

She used the music, which had always been a comfort to her, to get to a place where she was almost relaxed. Walking into The Langham, Emily hummed _50 Ways to Leave Your Lover_. She walked down the hall to Hotch’s door, took a deep breath, hummed some more, and then knocked. She heard Hotch and Jack both coming toward the door. Jack’s footsteps didn’t sound like little boy feet anymore. It caused a lump in her throat but she did her best to suck it up.

“Who is it?” Hotch asked, though he looked through the peephole and saw Emily.

“Special delivery for Jack Hotchner.” Emily threw her voice.

“Did you hear that Jack?” Hotch asked behind the door. “It’s a special delivery; you wanna open the door.”

“OK Daddy.”

Emily heard the top lock turn and the night latch move back. Then she saw the knob turn before the door finally came open. It felt like an eternity but she knew it couldn’t have been more than 30 to 60 seconds. When Jack laid eyes on her, he gasped. His mouth literally came open and he gasped. Then he squealed.

“Agent Emily!”

“Captain Jack! I missed you so much, sweetie.” Emily stepped over the threshold and swept the boy into her arms.

It had been so long, nine months, since she’d set eyes on him. He’d grown for sure; was almost too heavy for this ritual. But she needed it one more time, and knew that he did as well. Jack just clung to her, giggling like crazy as she covered his face in kisses. Then she just held him, trying and failing not to cry.

“I missed you too, Agent Emily.” Jack pulled away and wiped her tears. “Don’t cry, OK.”

“I wasn’t sure when we’d be together again. I feel like I was gone forever.”

“You were gone a really long time. You missed all my soccer goals and my first day of real school and everything.”

“I know.” Emily was still holding on to him. “I'm so sorry, really really.”

“Did you save the world, Agent Emily? Daddy said you had to go on a secret FBI mission to save the world. Did you save the world?”

“Well…”

She walked into the living room with Jack still in her arms. Hotch walked with them but he didn’t interrupt the reunion. He could hear the joy in both Jack and Emily’s voice. He saw the way Jack clung to her. It made him feel good that they were together again.

“I know it’s a secret.” Jack said as they sat down on the couch. “But you got all the bad guys right.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I knew it.” he cheered a bit. “I missed you but I knew you were gonna get all the bad guys. Are you back forever and ever?”

“Absolutely.” The tears were back but there was nothing Emily could do. She assured Jack that they were tears of joy. She missed him and was happy to be back with him now. Being a superhero all over the world, his words not hers, was cool, but home was where the heart was.

“My heart’s right here, Agent Emily.” Jack put his hand over his heart.

Emily smiled, putting her hand over Jack’s. Then she kissed the top of his sandy hair. She looked at Hotch and her eyes were so grateful. He had no idea what to say. He wanted to say a million things but found that nothing was easier. No, easy was the wrong word. It was just the simple thing to do.

Life, work, fatherhood, memories…there were so many complicated things in Hotch’s life. Even the things that brought him joy had complications. The conundrum of Emily Prentiss...he didn’t think he would ever figure that out. One thing he did know, she loved his little boy. She was good to him and Jack adored her just as much.

“I think my heart might be right there too, Jack Jack.”

“Nuh uh! Yours is here.” Jack put his hand over her heart. “It’s beating so fast.”

“I'm just so excited to see you.” she put Jack on the couch beside her. “You have to catch me up on everything. What have you been up to?”

“Prentiss, would you like some water or something?” Hotch asked. He’d been sitting in the chair beside the couch, watching the two of them.

“Water would be great, thanks.”

He went into the kitchen as Emily and Jack chattered away in the living room. They were like best friends reunited after years apart. Everything had changed, yet nothing had. Hotch wished he knew why Jack and Emily fit together like hand and glove. She really stepped up after Haley passed away.

Jessie was there but Emily wanted to help too. Hotch tried to downplay things; he and Jack were going to be fine. But Emily showed up and Jack took to her immediately. He liked the way she read stories, played games with him, could answer tough questions, and be maternally tender. That was what Hotch was afraid of.

Jack didn’t have a mother now and Emily didn’t have any children. He didn’t want them to get too close; he didn’t want them to get hurt. It seemed improbable that loving a child could be hurtful but he saw something in Emily’s eyes when she was with Jack. Hotch wanted to nurture the relationship but at the same protect them both.

From what, he wasn’t entirely sure. Aaron Hotchner was used to having all the answers. Maybe that’s why Emily scared him so much. He couldn’t solve her like a math problem or a BAU case. Taking the water back into the living room, he walked in right in the middle of Jack’s soccer story.

“And Uncle Dave helped coach us too.” he said. “He doesn’t run down the field like Daddy does but he gives us Gatorade and collects all the balls when practice is over.”

“Tell me how school is buddy.” Emily took the glass and drank nearly half of it. She was suddenly really thirsty. “Do you like your teacher?”

“Wait guys, this sounds like its going to be a long talk.” Hotch gently interrupted them. “Emily, Jack and I were planning a nice day out. It was going to be a guy thing but I think it might be nice if you joined us.”

“Yeah, Agent Emily, come with us.” Jack could hardly contain his excitement. He was like a firecracker about to burst.

“OK.” She smiled. In the past, Emily came up with excuses. She was already attached enough to the boy and his father; she didn’t want to become even more so. But after all that time away this was the only place she wanted to be. She’d make sense of it, and what was sure to be her broken heart, later. Right now this was happiness. “What’s the plan?”

“Daddy’s gonna take me to the Dinosaur Museum, the book store, to get hot dogs. We’re gonna have lots of fun.”

“Well if its one thing I love its lots of fun. I’m in.”

“Yay!” Jack cheered.

“Well Jack, you better go and finish getting ready. Put your sneakers on and grab your jacket. Make sure you put your camera in your backpack too.”

“OK Daddy.” He hopped off the couch. “Don’t move, Agent Emily.”

“I'm not going anywhere.” She smiled as he rushed to his bedroom. Then she looked at Hotch. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.” Emily shook her head. “Just letting me be a part of his life. I missed him so much when I was away. I looked at his picture everyday. I missed a lot but I really think I missed Jack the most.”

“He asked about you all the time. I hated lying to him, I hated lying to everyone. Just seeing Jack’s eyes light up when he saw you on the other side of the door meant a lot to me. I should be thanking you.”

“Let’s just say we’re both thankful and…”

She was going to say _leave it at that_ but something inside of Emily didn’t like how that sounded. So she just smiled some and finished her water. It was going to be a busy afternoon. Jack had a ton of energy; she’d spent nights in Epsom salt baths after their adventures. But being tired had never felt so awesome.

Emily was so glad to be home. She was glad to be chasing maniacs again and helping victims. She was glad to be recertifying with Morgan, shopping with Penelope, having breakfast with JJ, and talking nerdy stuff with Spencer. Even cooking with Dave, which he did begrudgingly, was a joy. This thing she had with Hotch and Jack was something different.

It had been going on for almost two years now but she and her Unit Chief still hadn't made it far beyond the pleasantries. Hotch often called her by her last name even when they were ‘hanging out’. Of course she wasn’t calling him Aaron much either. They both loved Jack to pieces but he kept her at arm’s length. If her death and resurrection didn’t change that, Emily was sure nothing would. She knew, after being away for so long and finally coming back, that it was time to get a life.

It was time to get over Aaron Hotchner. Nothing would ever come of this silly schoolgirl crush she’d been carrying around for five years. Being there for Jack didn’t mean she had to be in love with his dad. The two were not one in the same. She was never going to be his stepmother. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be his fairy godmother.

“And what?” Hotch asked. His eyebrow cocked a little, it was almost playful.

“I just want to have a good time today with my boys.” she didn’t want to say that. Emily didn’t want him to think that she thought this was something more than it was. But she wanted to be honest too…spending time with them made her happy. Despite moving on from the silly crush, if Hotch didn’t want her around then he wouldn’t let her hang around right?

“We’re definitely ready for some fun.” Hotch smiled and his dimples showed. “It wasn’t the same when you were gone. Now it can be like it was before.”

Emily didn’t get a chance to respond because Jack ran out of his room.

“I'm ready!” he exclaimed. “You ready, Agent Emily?”

“Yep.” Standing from the couch, she took Jack’s hand.

“C'mon Daddy, lets go.”

They started walking toward the door as Hotch grabbed his wallet and his car keys. He was in the mood for a little adventure as well. It would be great to spend an afternoon with Emily again. When she was gone he knew Jack missed her but Hotch missed her too.

He was doubtful that he would ever be able to put those feelings into words, and surely never into deed. He just decided to go out today and have fun. That was how Hotch would show Emily that he was grateful to have her back. He could finally relax and have fun again.

***

  



End file.
